Switzerland Ski Trip - Feb 2008

School Trips. As a teacher I have to love them. The opportunity for travel around the UK and Europe either for free or for greatly reduced prices is one hard to give a miss. Last year I was able to go on a week long trip to the Isle of Wight with Years 5 and 6. This year it was to be 7 days (15th to 23rd of Feb) of snowboarding and fun in the resort town of Meiringen in Switzerland. Students and teachers alike were going to have a great time.

Trip Location: Meiringen, Switzerland



After 18 or so hours travelling through Britain, France and Switzerland we finally arrive in the resort town of Meiringen. Phew!



Even on the first afternoon I took the opportunity to wander around a bit and discover the verities of the town. Meiringen's claim to fame is to have invented Meringue. The chocolate stores are brimming to the full with it. Its nice enough, but give me a Pavlova anytime I say.

The claim seems to be true insofar as the name is concerned, but the recipe had probably been used in England before - just under a different name.



The nearby church. Even on the mountain we could hear its bells tolling in the hours daily.



My desire to pose wins over my sense of discovery... :)



Special meals were often on the menu at our hotel. In this case
an experiment with Fondue - Swiss style.



Miss Hannah Driver, Art teacher and nominal cheese hater, takes the plunge into Fondue.



Ok so far...



But not for long... hehe



Some Swiss chocolate goodies. Well you can't blame me can you.





Alf, the PGL rep at the Ski Trip - rarely without a smile on his face.




We even had raps about the camp.



This is much pleasanter than it looks - we tended to be squashed into this like sardines.



Claudia, our friendly snowboarding instructor. YA YA!



Yes, I had decided not to shave the whole week.



Cue, beautiful scenery.



Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!


The valley below with Brienzer See lake in the distance. The town of Interlaken lies on its shores. You may also notice the airstrip of the local Airforce base. Yep, it was FA-18's baby.



Between the two peaks lies a glacier. The first I have seen, but how much longer it will last? ... hmmm



Feeling on top of the world - well at least 2400 or so metres of it anyway.



Officially the highest I have been so far. At about 2450 m's this is marginally taller than Mt Kosciusko - the tallest mountain in Australia (which I have been near to the top of). Of course this is still a foothill compared to other mountains in the Alps.






Too amazing for words...



Little Sam (son of the organiser of the camp) proves he's bigger than he looks.








Words fail... absolutely spectacular.





Mysterious clouds billowing behind him, Joshua came down the slope on his snowboard...

...He was never seen or heard of again...



My snowboarding group...


Little Sam holds court.



Some students were capable of doing stuff like this. I wish!


Lunchtimes could be entertaining.



On the ferry back to Dover and England. A nice little sunburn there as well. Of course, also back to school the next day.


Final analysis: The Alps are every bit worth visiting. They are even more worth visiting if you are snowboarding or skiing.